Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger / RNC Chairman Michael Steel
Posted on 03/24/2009 6:03:52 AM PDT by NYer
.- Saying there can be “no equivocation” about abortion, Bishop of Evansville, Indiana Gerald Andrew Gettelfinger has decided not to attend the Vanderburgh County Right to Life (VCRL) banquet because Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, a Catholic who made conflicting comments about his abortion views, will be addressing the gathering.
Bishop Gettlelfinger charged that Steele “assiduously avoids” strong language on abortion.
The Washington Times reports that 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is also to address the banquet attendees.
Paul Leingang, communications director for the Diocese of Evansville, told CNA that the bishop intends not to attend the dinner he would normally attend.
Evansville Catholic Charities Director Jim Collins also plans not to attend the gathering, saying he was “shocked” by Steele’s comments on abortion in an interview with GQ magazine.
The Republican leader had told GQ that he believes women “absolutely” have the right to choose abortion and that he believes abortion is “an individual choice.”
Steele later distanced himself from remarks in a statement, saying “I am pro-life, always have been, always will be” and voicing his support for the Republican Party platform and “its call for a Human Life Amendment.”
Last Thursday the VCRL board voted to honor its speaking contract with Steele, which agreement was reached last fall, according to the Washington Times.
"We have done our due diligence," VCRL Executive Director Mary Ellen Van Dyke told the Washington Times. "Michael Steele has made the board of directors more than satisfied with his response regarding the GQ article. He told us he always has been and will be pro-life and against abortion in all cases."
However, Bishop Gettelfinger wrote a letter to VCRL, saying that “the principled answer for us is that there can be no equivocation: Intentional abortion is an act of killing the unborn. There is no room for choice in this deadly matter. Mr. Steele assiduously avoids such strong language.”
On Monday CNA spoke with Evansville diocesan communications director Paul Leingang about Bishop Gettelfinger’s decision.
He said there were no new developments concerning the situation because Bishop Gettelfinger is out of town. The diocese had not received a response to the letter the bishop had sent to VCRL, but was still hoping for comment. The organization may not yet have received the bishop’s letter, Leingang explained.
Explaining to CNA why Bishop Gettelfinger will not be attending, Leingang said the bishop was “disturbed” by Steele’s comments in GQ magazine in regard to a woman’s “right to choose” and that they seemed to come from “a political stance, not a principled one.”
“The principled answer would be there can be no equivocation, there’s no room for ‘choice’,” Leingang told CNA, because of what is being chosen.
CNA asked about defenses of Steele which claimed he merely spoke with “unfortunate phrasing” in his GQ interview.
“The salient point is that this is the principled decision of Bishop Gettelfinger,” Leingang replied, reporting that the bishop spoke with Steele by phone last Friday and also read the statement that Steele had issued following the GQ interview.
“After that conversation and examination of the statement, Bishop Gettelfinger maintained his decision not to attend the banquet.”
The bishop has not previously had to take a stand by declining to attend an event.
“This is unique,” Leingang told CNA.
He added that Bishop Gettelfinger will explain his decision in an upcoming article for the diocesan newspaper The Message.
I don’t think Steele is really pro-abortion. I think he is just very wishy-washy and afraid to take a strong stand and ends up embarassing himself and the party with his confusing statements. I’m not a Catholic, but I don’t think he deserves being boycotted, or denied communion, just told to grow a spine and speak plainly on life.
On guns, he is a “moderate”. He’s not an out and out gun grabber, but he is not nearly strong enough on the 2nd Amendment.
I agree hie should resign, though. I’d love to see a real, courageous Conservative like Ken Blackwell take his place.
Uh huh, right. Meanwhile Obama gets a Catholic platform in Indiana.
Steele already said he misspoke. He is pro-life. If you don’t believe people when they correct themselves what do you believe.
My comment referred to Mr. Steele as a racist. I do agree with the previous poster that he has been all over the map on the abortion subject.
He is what I've come to expect from a politician....he tells the audience in front of him what they want to hear. When you catch someone contradicting themselves you are within your rights to be skeptical about the content of any of his future statements. He has a credibility problem, and is damaged goods.
I don’t know why they don’t jump ship, too. They could find any number of Protestant denominations that are either pro-choice or let it be a woman’s individual decision. But NO, they want to foul the nest that they hate but live in. Like adolescents fighting parents instead of just leaving home.
He can comment all he wants.
Freegards
Steele said the wrong thing but he is not pro-abortion and not racist.
He most certainly is a racist. He has stated that he believes in Affirmative Action....that quite simply means that he believes that Blacks should get preferential treatment over Whites.
An easy way to check if what I'm saying is true is to reverse the placement of Blacks and Whites in the previous sentence and see what you would call it then. I'll call BS on anyone who says that Black people cannot be racist!
That is not his diocese - it is out of his jurisdiction to make any personal statements.
If you're not for protecting the most innocent humans from the whims of irresponsible adults, ( Why Did It Have to be Guns?)
you have NO BUSINESS being in a conservative leadership position.
If Mr. Steele had misspoken once about the topic of life, corrected himself, and moved on, one would be obligated to give him the benefit of the doubt. The problem is that Mr. Steele has been “misspeaking” since 2006, and needing to correct himself every so often.
That's not acceptable.
At this time, I no longer know what Mr. Steele really thinks or believes. At the very least, he is inarticulate and prone to verbal fumbles. If that's the case, he should keep his trap shut and work to rebuild the party quietly. Better yet, he should resign his position and go do work that is better suited to him.
But it may be that he isn't inarticulate, but rather trying to straddle the fence on the issue of life. In which case, he should be forced from his position as party chair.
In any event, it appears that the Bishop of Evansville has actually spoken with Mr. Steele about his “inarticulateness” and is not satisfied with Mr. Steele's clarifications:
“’The salient point is that this is the principled decision of Bishop Gettelfinger,’ Leingang replied, reporting that the bishop spoke with Steele by phone last Friday and also read the statement that Steele had issued following the GQ interview.”
In that I didn't get to speak directly with Mr. Steele and question him directly about his beliefs and views, I think I'm going to go with the bishop on this one.
I voted twice for Mr. Steele. The only bumper sticker I have ever put on any vehicle that I've ever owned was a Steele 2006 bumper sticker. But I'm tired with Mr. Steele's misfirings on crucial issues, especially the issue of life. I no longer have any faith in him, and I wish he would resign as party chair and go crawl under some rock and stop embarrassing the party and pro-lifers.
sitetest
He can’t even comment? Why?
Freegards, thanks for all the pings
Of course he can comment.
But unlike the to-do with Mr. Steele, the Bishop of Evansville is not obligated to respond to events in the Diocese of South Bend. He's free to give his thoughts and views about happenings at Notre Dame, but it isn't his bailiwick.
However, under the circumstances, it would be nice for him to balance his criticism of Mr. Steele with a fair and just criticism of the administration of Notre Dame. In this way, he would show that politics aren't the issue here, but rather the defense of life.
It is disappointing that he hasn't made any comment regarding the Notre Dame scandal.
sitetest
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It really is weird that the bishop won’t attend even after speaking privately to Steele. I reckon there’s two possibilities. Either the bishop really IS this pro-life (which is awesome), or he is so in the tank for the dems that this is actually a ploy to confuse Catholic voters even more, by smearing the party that actually has life in its platform.
Freegards
BREAKING! Pro-life, devout Catholic named new RNC chair!
Opinion: Michael Steele, Black, Pro-Life Catholic Takes the Helm of the G.O.P.
Catholic Michael Steele (former seminarian) takes over leadership of RNC
Steele is NOT pro-life, and he is anti-gun rights.
He’s a RINO, left-wing nut case.
Having watched the debacle of Michael Steele unfold, I'm afraid that Mr. Steele has given plenty of ammunition to folks who no longer think that he's pro-life. That's even if the bishop is playing politics.
sitetest
Regrettably, the media hasn't misquoted Mr. Steele. He himself has admitted that he “misspoke.” That has nothing to do with being misquoted. The anti-life words affirming a woman's “right” to choose to kill her unborn baby really did come out of Mr. Steele's mouth. He later claimed that that wasn't what he really meant. However, his words on the topic have been confused and confusing since 2006.
At best, he is a moron.
At worst, he is no longer truly pro-life.
I suspect it's more something in the middle - he's trying to speak out of both sides of his mouth so as to attract pro-deathers, but still maintain that he's pro-life. Frankly, if that's the case, then there is little difference between what he's doing and someone who is ashamed of being pro-life.
I can't criticize this bishop for his actions. I wish more bishops would act thusly when this nonsense happens in their dioceses.
sitetest
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